How It Starts
by Mayura-Hikari-090
Summary: Series of drabbles or character studies revolving around a story set years after SHH. 2nd gen
1. Alex

_Okay...a little explanation on this. These are just character studies of the Shepherd family that take place before and in the opening chapter(s) of my "sequel (of sorts)" story. This story is a MAJOR WORK IN PROGRESS. I'm getting ready to go to graduate and go to college and I'm working on other stuff...so this story may never be updated. But I may work on it here and there and I'm always open to suggestions if anyone has any. Basic plot (to avoid major confusion): takes place many many many years after SH5, Alex was killed in action and has been dead 3 years, Rebecca is 18, Isaac is 13, Isaac is kidnapped and through clues found in her dad's study, Rebecca heads to SH to find him. Chaos ensues of course. Obviously it's a major work so it will definitely be awhile before I upload it. BUT, I wanted to post something for funsies and for character develop on my part. Hope you all enjoy :D_

**Alex**

He was always over-protective of his family. When he was home, that is.

She never thought that getting promoted and suddenly becoming important on the Army's totem pole went to his head and suddenly his family wasn't good enough for his attention. She did notice that as the years went on, and as her and her brother got older, he was there less and less.

It hurt her personally because she had always been so close to him, her hero and role model. What did he teach her? That abandoning your family was okay? That work is more important than the people who unconditionally love you despite your faults or when you're an asshole? That it's okay to quit and give up?

Never.

She would never listen to him. Never take lessons like that from a man who built her up for so many years only to break her down again with each time he turned his back.

But she still cried for him. Sobbed until she couldn't breathe even though she promised she wouldn't.

And now everything's shot to hell.

It all started with him.

_Elle is next. Sorry it's so depressing...but hey, it's SH. It's always depressing._


	2. Elle

_I forgot to mention in the previous chapter that these are all from Rebecca's POV. Maybe you could figure it out...if you were confused, sorry! Onward to the drabble..._

**Elle**

Apparently her mother had been quite an interesting person before marrying, having children and generally settling down. She fought for people's rights, never settled for anything she didn't agree with and was strong.

The woman who sits across the table from her is a ghost of her former self, right down to her hollowed eyes and thin cheeks, once so full of vitality.

She remembers the smiling, laughing woman who cuddled her when the wind howled outside her bedroom window, who scolded her for leaving her room a mess and talking back, who sang in an off-key but still impossibly sweet voice when her brother couldn't get to sleep at night, who loved her despite all the trouble she put her through.

She wonders where that woman has gone. She misses her.

She sees a broken woman, whittled down by fate and completely torn apart by the ultimate betrayal. The one person who promised that no matter what he would be there has gone. Left them alone and with nothing but a few checks in the mail and an empty house.

She sees how she misses him. She sees how her strength has faded since the funeral.

So she will be strong. For her mother. For both of them.

She won't let them down—like he did.

_Isaac's next._


	3. Isaac

_Short one...not much else to say._

**Isaac**

He was a gentle boy with a kind smile and warm heart. For the weeks after he started crawling, he was afraid of their dog—the mildest and sweetest dog to walk the earth.

The memory she conjures of him that completely describes his character is this: she was sitting at her desk, working on homework, when he suddenly screamed and came running, clutching at her t-shirt for dear life. There was a spider on his windowsill next to his bed and if someone didn't kill it soon, it would bury itself under his covers and he'd never find it. But he couldn't kill it himself. He needed his sister to do it.

He always had such good advice when she fought with their mother and sometimes with their father. He hated the arguing, but he was always ready to take her side. She was always ready to defend him. At times, it felt like they only had each other.

And now he's gone.

She'll kill whoever preyed on such an innocent soul. She can't think of anything weaker or more pathetic than that.

_Aaaand finally...Rebecca._


	4. Rebecca

_The last one...hope you enjoyed :D_

**Rebecca**

She doesn't know how to describe herself.

Stubborn, headstrong, too quick to argue or say something she doesn't mean, too quick to jump to a conclusion or course of action without thinking of the consequences. _That doesn't make a good soldier_, her father would say.

Loving, loyal, ready to jump to anything to save someone she loves, ready to defend that same person in a heartbeat no matter the circumstances. _Love makes you blind_, her mother would say.

She is two halves of one person, two parts from two people who were so different and yet loved each other like everyone should be loved. She feels the divide in herself but doesn't know what to do with it—how to make herself feel more whole.

She used to feel whole when he was still alive. Even if he wasn't there, she had hoped that one day he would be.

And then he wasn't.

She hates him for it. She hates him more than anything for abandoning her, her mother and her brother. She hates him for building himself up in her eyes only to prove what he really was—_worthless_.

But she loves him so much it hurts. She loves him for being the best father a girl could hope for. She loves him for teaching her to not be afraid. She loves him for being there—when he was there.

Two halves of one whole.

Perhaps the missing piece is there?

In Silent Hill.

_Any comments, concerns, threats, questions, etc? Or just want to leave a ":D". Hit the button. NOW!_


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